


Sleep Easy

by mustachio



Category: Assassin's Creed
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-07
Updated: 2012-06-07
Packaged: 2017-11-07 04:00:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/426708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mustachio/pseuds/mustachio
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone has something that manages to shake them up like nothing else can. For Salai, that thing is the idea of someone hurting Leonardo in any way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sleep Easy

He is terrified that Leonardo will not come back to him. He is terrified that Ezio will come back alone, that news of Leonard will be grave. Worse still, he is terrified that Ezio will not return at all. He is terrified that both will turn out to be dead and he will not know what to do with himself. He hates not knowing what's going on, hates not being able to do anything, hates that maybe this could have been prevented if he hadn't been out gambling. Suddenly, he is not so fond of gambling anymore.

When Melzi returns home he is shocked. Salai has done nothing to clean up the mess -- only remained in the seat he'd been in when he saw the writing on the floor. He barely looks up at the other boy, doesn't care that he's speaking to him, or that he's probably just as distressed as Salai is, of not more. At least Salai has a vague idea of what happened. At least he knows who took their master and even the possible reasoning behind it. Melzi knows none of that, but Salai can't bring himself to care one bit. He's lost in his own mind, his own guilty thoughts, and he's making himself sick, but he doesn't care. Finally, Melzi leaves and shortly after he does Salai's stomach decides that everything in it will have to be removed.

He vows that after all of this he will quit all of his behavior that he knows Leonardo hates. His drinking, his gambling, his thievery -- all of it will cease. After this he will do everything he can to make up for all of the unhappiness he's caused Leonardo until now. A man like him doesn't deserve the treatment he's gotten from his own apprentice. Suddenly it feels as though he hasn't appreciated the inventor enough, that there had been too many times where he took the painter for granted, didn't take his lessons serious enough, and should have shown how much he cared for him many more times than he did. The thought of never seeing Leonardo again is too much, but he is thankful when he is able to keep himself from crying. He's honestly surprised that he'd managed to keep himself acting calm in front of Ezio for as long as he did.

Hours, then days pass and Salai grows more and more exhausted. He hardly eats, hardly sleeps, but it all catches up to him quickly. Eventually, his body forces him to sleep against his will. He wishes to stay where he is and watch the door for when they return, but his body will have none of that anymore. It's a dreamless sleep and he's not certain how long he sleeps for, but when he wakes up he isn't in the chair he'd been in when he fell asleep. He's in a bed - Leonardo's bed - and he buries himself in the sheets, trying to get more of the familiar scent that has been permanently ingrained into them. It isn't until minutes pass that he realizes someone had to have carried him up here. Melzi wasn't strong enough to do so and he's not sure any of the others in Leonardo's household would care enough about him to do it.

He rushes out of the bed and down into the workshop. He finds Ezio and Leonardo there, although Leonardo's back is to him and so he doesn't notice Salai there. Ezio sees him, however, and gives him a nod in acknowledgment - a gesture which Leonardo does see - and as Leonardo turns around to see who it is that Ezio is nodding to, he finds himself instead stumbling backwards, caught off guard by the force with which the person had flung himself into Leonardo's arms. A hand runs through Salai's curls and lips press against the top of his head. Salai buries his face in Leonardo's chest and tightens his arms around the man. The familiar scent is comforting and he has no intention of ever being far enough that he can't smell it again, though he knows something like that would never really be possible.

He is thankful that he is able to hold back the tears that threaten to fall. He's so thankful that Leonardo is here and alive and warm, but he is hurt and he can't bring himself to smile because of that. He brings a hand up to Leonardo's face and wipes away some of the dirt and lightly runs his thumb over a bruise under his eye.

"They hurt you. Those bastardi hurt you!"

His frown deepens and he makes no effort to hide his anger - Salai is shaking with the emotion and the hand that isn't at Leonardo's face curls into a fist, bunching up the cloth of his Master's shirt.

"Why would they do something like this? They should pay!"

From behind them, Ezio lifts a hand to stop Salai from saying anything else. He takes a step closer and Salai lets go of Leonardo so that he can see Ezio better.

"Everything has already been taken care of. There is no reason to get upset now."

Leonardo rests a hand on Salai's shoulder, turning the young man to face him again and gives him a small smile. Salai lifts his own hand to the one resting on his shoulder and laces their fingers together. He is still frowning, not entirely convinced that those robed men had paid a high enough price for harming someone like Leonardo. Even their lives are too low a cost for something like that.

"Ezio is right. I am fine now so there is no reason to be upset. Come, we should get to bed. It has been a long night and I am sure we are all tired. Ezio, you may stay in one of the spare rooms upstairs. It is too late to be traveling, rest for the night."

Ezio simply nods, not really wanting to waste any time, but not wishing to argue over something as small as this, either. He notices Salai staring at him looking as though he has something to say to him, but instead he turns back to Leonardo, hands still laced together.

"You should get cleaned up before bed. I will help you."

There is no argument from the artist on this. He needs no help from Salai to clean himself of the dirt that had gathered on him over the course of the night's events, but if it made Salai happy and kept him from getting upset, there was no reason to say anything against it. Besides, having his apprentice take care of him was very nice and he appreciated the times when the boy would dote on him much more than the more frequent times when he would wonder what possessed him to keep a thief who cared more about fashion than painting at his side. Passing up a moment like that is would be unthinkable.

"Of course."

He moves to go upstairs to the bathroom, but Salai stays in place for a moment before turning back to Ezio. Both of the older men stare, waiting for him to say something, but for a few moments he keeps his mouth shut and looks very troubled by something.

"Salai, is something wrong? You don't usually act like this."

Leonardo's question goes unanswered, Salai choosing to finally say what he'd been struggling with before.

"Thank you, Ezio. Thank you for bringing him back to me."

This is surprising - Salai is not the thankful type, not at all - and the reason behind his struggle to get the words out is suddenly very clear. He rubs his thumb over the back of Salai's hand in a circular motion to try and calm him down - he’s obviously still very shaken up and sends a smile Ezio's way before he turns to lead Salai up the stairs and to the bathroom. The bath goes quickly, both of them too tired for anything other than getting clean and it isn't long before they are dressed in their night clothes and curled up together on Leonardo's bed.

Salai's head is tucked under Leonardo's chin, a hand resting on his stomach, and he's quiet. He is content to just listen to the sounds of Leonardo's breathing, his heartbeat, and enjoy the feeling of having those strong hands running through his curls. He lets out a happy sigh. This is by far his favorite place to be and he makes a silent vow to personally do away with anyone who tries to take this away from him. He moves a little closer to Leonardo, tucking himself into the man a little more securely and pulling the blanket up to his chin. If only they could stay like this forever he would be okay with it. He would be more than happy to keep true to the silent vows he’d made earlier to stop gambling and drinking if it were possible to stay in this bed together just like this for the rest of eternity.

Leonardo presses a kiss to the top of his head and in turn, Salai stretches up and presses kisses to the man’s cheeks, nose, and finally his lips. When he rests his head back in its original position he is nearly asleep. He’d gotten some sleep before and he’s not sure if it had been hours or minutes, but whatever amount of time it had been was clearly not enough. Everything had been so exhausting and trying to stay awake any longer would be a losing battle, but it’s okay now. His sleep will be much better now that the single most important person in his life – the one person he really truly loves – is here.


End file.
